Dianne Feinstein

	Dianne Feinstein
	U.S. Senate, California
	Incumbent
	In office
	1993-Present
	Term ends
	January 3, 2019
Years in position	20
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	John Seymour (R)
	Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 3, 1992
Next election	November 2018
Campaign $	$34,524,710
Term limits	N/A
	Prior offices
	Mayor, City of San Francisco
	1978-1988
	Education
Bachelor's	Stanford University, 1955
	Personal
Birthday	June 22, 1933
Place of birth	San Francisco, CA
Net worth	$70,725,124
Religion	Jewish
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website

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Dianne Feinstein (b. June 22, 1933) is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of California. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992.

Feinstein began her political career in 1970, serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors until 1978. She then served as Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. Prior to her election to the Senate in 1992, she ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California in 1990.

Feinstein most recently won re-election in 2012. She and Elizabeth Emken (R) advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating 22 other candidates. Feinstein then defeated Emken in the general election, receiving 62.5% of the vote.^[1]^[2]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Feinstein is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning she will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Feinstein's academic, professional and political career:^[3]

1955: Graduated from Stanford University
1960-1966: California Women’s Board of Terms and Parole
1970-1978: San Francisco Board of Supervisors
1978-1988: Mayor of San Francisco
1988-1989: Director, Bank of California
1990: Unsuccessful candidate for Governor of California
1992-Present: U.S. Senator from California

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Feinstein serves on the following committees^[4]:

Intelligence, Chair
Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Department of Defense
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
- Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
- Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Rules and Administration

2011-2012

Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy And Water Development, Chair
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Judiciary
- Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
- Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
Rules and Administration
Intelligence, Chair

Issues

Senate Judiciary Committee

Feinstien became one of the first women in the history of the Senate Judiciary Committee to be appointed to the powerful committee in 1993 after she was sworn into duty as a Senator. Joining Feinstien as the other woman to serve on the committee was former Illinois Senator Carol Mosley-Braun. Since then two other women have been appointed to the committee including Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell and current committee member Amy Klobuchar.^[5]

Campaign themes

2012

Feinstein's campaign website listed the following issues:^[6]

Protecting our Natural Resources

Excerpt: "Dianne increased fleetwide fuel economy standards for cars, trucks and SUVs by at least 10 miles per gallon over 10 years or from 25 mpg to 35 mpg by Model Year 2020 – the largest increase in more than two decades, and the first Congressional action on global warming."

Fighting Crime and Drug Trafficking

Excerpt: "Dianne worked for eight years in the successful effort to give victims of violent crime a core set of procedural rights under federal law and ensuring that they have standing to assert their rights before a court."

Improving our Health

Excerpt: "Dianne supported The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which overhauled health insurance in the nation, lowering costs and ensuring choice for all Americans."

Protecting our National Security

Excerpt: "As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne took a leading role in enacting the first Intelligence Authorization bill in six years. This bill improves oversight, strengthens the Director of National Intelligence’s ability to manage the intelligence agencies, and improves intelligence acquisition and budgeting practices. "

Fiscal Cliff

Feinstein voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.^[7]

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in California, 2012

Feinstein won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012.^[8] She and Elizabeth Emken (R) advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Colleen Shea Fernald (D), David Alex Levitt (D), Nak Shah (D), Diane Stewart (D), Mike Strimling (D), John Boruff (R), Oscar Alejandro Braun (R), Greg Conlon (R), Rogelio Gloria (R), Dan Hughes (R), Dennis Jackson (R), Dirk Konopik (R), Donald Krampe (R), Robert Lauten (R), Al Ramirez (R), Nachum Shifren (R), Orly Taitz (R), Rick Williams (R), Gail Lightfoot (L), Kabiruddin Karim Ali (Peace and Freedom), Marsha Feinland (Peace and Freedom), and Don Grundmann (Independent). They faced off in the November 6, 2012, general election,^[9]^[10] and Feinstein won.^[1]

U.S. Senate, California, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein Incumbent	62.5%	7,864,624
	Republican	Elizabeth Emken	37.5%	4,713,887
Total Votes				12,578,511
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Dianne Feinstein, click [show] to expand the section.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Richard Mountjoy (R), Todd Chretien (G), Michael Metti (L), Marsha Feinland (P&F), and Don Grundmann (American Independent) in the general election.^[11]

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein incumbent	59.4%	5,076,289
	Republican	Richard Mountjoy	35%	2,990,822
	Green	Todd Chretien	1.7%	147,074
	Libertarian	Michael Metti	1.6%	133,851
	Peace and Freedom	Marsha Feinland	1.4%	117,764
	American Independent	Don Grundmann	0.9%	75,350
	N/A	Write-in	0%	326
Total Votes				8,541,476

2000

On November 7, 2000, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Tom Campbell (R), Medea Susan Benjamin (G), Gail Katherine Lightfoot (L), Diane Beall Templin (American Independent), Jose Luis Camahort (Reform), and Brian Rees (Natural Law) in the general election.^[12]

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein incumbent	55.8%	5,932,522
	Republican	Tom Campbell	36.6%	3,886,853
	Green	Medea Susan Benjamin	3.1%	326,828
	Libertarian	Gail Katherine Lightfoot	1.8%	187,718
	American Independent	Diane Beall Templin	1.3%	134,598
	Reform	Jose Luis Camahort	0.9%	96,552
	Natural Law	Brian Rees	0.6%	58,537
Total Votes				10,623,608

1994

On November 8, 1994, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Michael Huffington (R), Elizabeth Cervantes Barron (P&F), Richard Benjamin Boddie (L), Paul Meeuwenberg (American Independent), and Barbara Blong (G) in the general election.^[13]

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein incumbent	46.7%	3,979,152
	Republican	Michael Huffington	44.8%	3,817,025
	Peace and Freedom	Elizabeth Cervantes Barron	3%	255,301
	Libertarian	Richard Benjamin Boddie	2.1%	179,100
	American Independent	Paul Meeuwenberg	1.7%	142,771
	Green	Barbara Blong	1.7%	140,567
	N/A	Write-in	0%	173
Total Votes				8,514,089

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Feinstein is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Feinstein raised a total of $34,524,710 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.^[14]

Dianne Feinstein's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	US Senate (California)		$9,797,542
2006	US Senate (California)		$12,200,678
2000	US Senate (California)		$12,526,490
Grand Total Raised			$34,524,710

2012

Breakdown of the source of Feinstein's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Feinstein won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Feinstein's campaign committee raised a total of $9,797,542 and spent $12,152,230.^[15]

U.S. Senate, California, 2012 - Dianne Feinstein Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$9,797,542
Total Spent	$12,152,230
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$914,350
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$910,209
Top contributors to Dianne Feinstein's campaign committee
PG&E Corp	$120,700
JStreetPAC	$76,171
General Atomics	$56,750
Edison International	$53,250
General Dynamics	$43,500
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$546,496
Retired	$430,758
Lobbyists	$357,596
Real Estate	$306,698
Electric Utilities	$302,950

2006

Breakdown of the source of Feinstein's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Feinstein won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. During that re-election cycle, Feinstein's campaign committee raised a total of $12,200,678 and spent $9,403,030.^[16]

His top 5 contributors between 2001-2006 were:

U.S. Senate election, California, 2006 - Dianne Feinstein Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$12,200,678
Total Spent	$9,403,030
Total Raised by Opponent	$198,630
Total Spent by Opponent	$195,265
Top contributors to Dianne Feinstein's campaign committee
DeBartolo Development	$58,800
PG&E Corp	$51,250
Vivendi	$40,650
Qualcomm Inc	$39,647
Walt Disney Co	$35,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$697,291
Retired	$534,548
Real Estate	$490,601
Securities & Investment	$333,712
TV/Movies/Music	$309,627

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Feinstein is a "rank-and-file Democrat" as of June 2013.^[17]

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Feinstein missed 134 of 6,811 roll call votes from February 1993 to March 2013. This amounts to 2.0%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of March 2013.^[18]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Feinstein paid her congressional staff a total of $4,125,359 in 2011. She ranked 2nd on the list of the highest paid Democratic Senatorial Staff Salaries and she ranked 2nd overall of the highest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, California ranked 1st in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.^[19]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Feinstein's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $42,777,230 and $98,673,018. That averages to $70,725,124, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. Her average net worth increased by 2.43% from 2010.^[20]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Feinstein's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $44,386,225 and $93,707,020. That averages to $69,046,622.50, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2010 of $19,383,524 .^[21]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Feinstein ranked 26th in the liberal rankings among U.S. Senators in 2012.^[22]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Feinstein ranked 15th in the liberal rankings among U.S. Senators.^[23]

Voting with party

2013

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Feinstein has voted with the Democratic Party 95.8% of the time, which ranked 13th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.^[24]

Personal

Feinstein is married to Richard Blum and has one child and three stepchildren.

Recent news

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